Hartsville, South Carolina, USA, 02 February 2011 -- Sonoco (NYSE: SON), one of the largest diversified global packaging companies, has reached an agreement with the Composite Can and Tube Institute (CCTI) to make the company's patented radial crush tester for spiral-wound paperboard tubes and cores available to the industry.

According to David E. Rhodes, Sonoco's director of global industrial technology and engineering, "The radial crush tester measures the radial strength of a tube or core, which is a critical factor for a customer whose product applies a radial load such as plastic film and extensible textiles. The tester is able to simulate the loading condition that a customer's products apply to a core. The failure mode created by the tester is the same as the radial crush failure that occurs in a customer's winding operations."

Kristine Garland, executive vice president of the Composite Can and Tube Institute, stated, "CCTI's Technical Committee will develop and publish a standardized industry-wide testing procedure for measuring radial crush with the Sonoco radial crush tester."

Sonoco developed the radial crush tester in response to customer requirements more than 15 years ago. The tester is manufactured exclusively by Sonoco and used throughout its global tube and core operations.

Sonoco is the world's largest producer of spiral-wound uncoated recycled paperboard tubes and cores that serve as carriers for numerous products serving the film, paper mill, textiles, tape and labels, metals, construction, shipping and storage markets. The company operates approximately 90 converting facilities on five continents. Founded in 1899, Sonoco is a USD 3.6 billion global manufacturer of industrial and consumer products and provider of packaging services, with more than 300 operations in 35 countries, serving customers in some 85 nations. Sonoco is a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index. For more information on the company, visit www.sonoco.com.

The Composite Can and Tube Institute, based in Alexandria, Virginia, is a nonprofit international trade association founded in 1933. CCTI represents the interests of manufacturers of composite paperboard cans, containers, canisters, tubes, cores, cones, fiber drums, spools, ribbon blocks, bobbins, and related or similar composite products; and suppliers to those manufacturers of such items as paper, machinery, adhesives, labels, and other materials and services. For more information on CCTI, visit at www.cctiwdc.org.

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